The Work-Stay: Paris and Marseille

Flora Détraz’s Cri de Coeur

Flora Détraz and her mentor Sofia Jernberg had planned a two-part work-stay in Paris and Marseille, during which Détraz rehearsed with musicians to first experiment, and then fine-tune her performance piece HURLULA.

Jernberg was unable to join in person and thus consulted Détraz remotely as the mentee improvised with singer Isabelle Duthoit, trumpetist Yaw Tembe, and percussionist Lê Quan Ninh, exploring the endless expressive potential of screams. “I am interested in the act of screaming as an act of liberation,” says Détraz. Generously hosted by Atelier de Paris in the French capital, the improvisation sessions centered on testing screaming’s physical sound: is it flat? Round? Scattered? Where does it come from? What is its sonic range ? And how does the body contort while screaming? Coming from dance background, Détraz is interested in screaming’s embodiment.

Flora Détraz at Atelier de Paris. Photo ©Tatiana Sokolova
Photo ©Tatiana Sokolova
Yaw Tembe. Photo ©Tatiana Sokolova

In Marseille, Détraz was hosted by the residency program Montévidéo, where she worked with sound technicians on how to organize the material from the improvisation sessions, focusing on creating a specific sensation rather than amplification. There, it became clear that feedback and echoes are an important part of the work. The performance will premiere at the Forecast Festival this April 8–9 at radialsystem in Berlin.

Watch Flora Détraz’s video:

Filmmaker: Guillaume Reynaudo, Editing: Hannah Dörr, Sound Mix: Simon Peter. ©Forecast 2022

The work-stay took place in collaboration with Atelier de Paris and was supported by the Goethe-Institut Bordeaux.